East Pierce towns grapple with damage after historic flooding
East Pierce County is continuing to assess the damage from the recent atmospheric river floods.
David Kennedy, a spokesperson for Pierce County, told The News Tribune in an email that communities grappling with the most damage and impacts include “[the] Town of Wilkeson, Town of South Prairie, City of Sumner, Alderton area, City of Orting, the Riverside Fire District area, and urban flooding areas in Central Pierce County.”
Kennedy said that as of Dec. 16 at 5 p.m., residents have submitted 25 reports for an estimated $350,000 in damages to structures and properties.
Gov. Bob Ferguson and U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier visited several East Pierce County towns over the weekend, from Wilkeson to Orting. Scott Drennen, Orting’s mayor-elect, told The News Tribune that the visit allowed them to discuss ways to improve the town’s levee system.
“They came in and toured the site to see for damage, and they talked to us about how we can fortify our levees in other areas we haven’t made improvements on,” Drennen said. “In comparison to our 2006 flooding that we had, it was something we’re not used to – getting that type of attention from the state and from the federal level.”
Meanwhile, a portion of state Route 410 between Enumclaw and Greenwater has limited access due to flood damage.
What is the county doing to address damage?
In his email, Kennedy told The News Tribune that while crews are still assessing damage, they have not seen a lot of long-term impacts to structures.
“Pierce County bridge structures have been undergoing inspection for damages related to the flooding. Initial inspections have been completed and will continue as flood waters recede,” Kennedy wrote. “Overall, structures don’t seem to have taken any significant damage.”
Crews are still evaluating the impacts the flooding had on flood risk measures, such as levees.
“During the incident, Pierce County Planning and Public Works teams assessed flood risk reduction infrastructure such as levees and revetments for damage,” Kennedy wrote. “They will continue to make emergency repairs to river and road infrastructure as permitting and conditions allow. A more comprehensive damage assessment will take place once the rivers recede further.”
Kennedy also told The News Tribune the county is prioritizing assistance to unhoused people and residents in mobile home parks that were impacted.
“Pierce County Human Services has been working with community providers and street outreach workers to move people living unhoused into safe shelter,” Kennedy wrote. “Dozens of people have been moved away from hazardous areas, and we are actively supporting RV Park residents who have been displaced by flooding with temporary shelter, wraparound services, food, clothing, and other resources.”
County Executive Ryan Mello said during the governor’s Dec. 16 press conference that there are about 150 residents in three Pierce County mobile home parks whose homes were damaged in the flooding.
The News Tribune reached out to Pierce County Emergency Management to ask where these mobile homes are located and for more details about the damage, but did not get a response by deadline.
Drennen said the mobile home parks were located in unincorporated Pierce County.
“We were very fortunate to not have any of our parks impacted, but there were some parks that were on the outskirts of Orting that were impacted between Orting and South Prairie,” Drennen said. “The main one was the Bowman [Hilton Park] in Sumner between Sumner and Alderton.”
State Route 410 closure
The Washington State Department of Transportation told The News Tribune on Tuesday that state Route 410 has limited access between Enumclaw and Greenwater due to a part of the road falling into Boise Creek during the floods. This spans from Farman Street North at milepost 25 in Enumclaw to just west of Mud Mountain Dam Road at milepost 43 in Greenwater.
According to a Tuesday Facebook post from the Enumclaw Police Department, crews have installed a temporary traffic light at the route.
“Please use caution when utilizing this route,” the post said. “We still do not have any updates on the timeline for the road to be fixed, but we are so grateful to our Enumclaw DOT crew for getting this temporary solution so quickly!”
WSDOT closed the road on Dec. 11 due to heavy rain, and could not give The News Tribune an estimated date for reopening because of the widespread flooding damage across multiple state highways. Crews put up a temporary emergency lane on state Route 410 to prevent damage from weight on the roadway.
Orting
Drennen said that while Orting has suffered some damages, it could have been a lot worse without developments the city made to its infrastructure.
“We were fairly fortunate we haven’t received much in reported property damage – there may be some out there that could be from standing water or minor issues, but for the most part, we don’t have property damage reported as the result of flooding,” Drennen said.
There was some “slight topping on the Carbon River” side of town, Drennen said, and the city issued evacuation orders for developments in that area – but, fortunately, the water didn’t rise up to those properties.
Drennen also said the city’s bridges were not impacted, except for minor issues on the Foothills Trail.
“We got within just a couple feet below our bridges – the Carbon and the Puyallup [rivers], and then the Puyallup, again, going out of town – but fortunately, we’re not seeing the damage done to bridges,” Drenen said. “We had some logjams that were built up on the Foothills Trail, the county went in and responded and removed the logs to allow water to flow in those. But the bridges came through the high-flow event in great shape.”
Most of the land in Orting’s city limits rests along the Puyallup River’s floodplain. In 2006, Orting experienced some of its most severe flooding, when water flooded the Village Green neighborhood and caused about $400,000 in damage.
In response to the 2006 floods, the city created the Calistoga Setback Levee. The News Tribune reported in November 2014 that the work on the $17 million levy had wrapped up in the months prior.
The Calistoga Setback combined a new levy and a new channel for storm water. It also expanded the plain, with more native habitat that water can leak into before it hits private property.
Orting paid for the Calistoga Setback with grants from the Pierce County Flood District, Nature Conservancy, Salmon Recovery Funding Board and the state Department of Ecology. Orting residents also chipped in with stormwater fees.
“It’s funny because our flood levels were at 10,000 cubic feet per second prior to the Setback Levee, and we were pushing 22,000 feet per second through the Puyallup River through Orting – and fortunately, we didn’t flood the Village Green development with those high flows, and we kind of credit a lot of that to building the setback levee,” Drennen told The News Tribune. “We can’t take full credit because Pierce County Emergency Management did a lot of levee work, shoring up the levee on the other side, going east on the southeast [part] of town, and we still have a lot of work to do on that side to fortify the city. But definitely, our setback levee made a huge difference.”
Drennen said parts of the old levee structure suffered some damage, but “overall, we came through it very well.”
“We’re just very, very thankful,” Drennen said.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Ferguson called out Orting’s levee as an example of investments in flooding-prevention infrastructure, saying that it helped reduce damage from the storm.
Sumner
In a Facebook post published Wednesday morning, the Sumner Police Department said they were focusing much of their efforts on helping the City of Pacific.
“We continue to assist our neighboring City of Pacific as we can,” the post said. “Thank you to our Stewart Road Bridge contractor, Ceccanti, who built a channel yesterday through our construction site to help the flooded river water in Pacific rejoin the river as quickly as possible and drain from flooded roads.”
SPD also said they do not believe anyone living in Sumner was displaced by the flooding.
“We had the Army Corps of Engineers and a Hesco company official walk not only our new wall but also the Hescos put in place in Sumner a few years ago to check how they’re doing and holding up. So far, so good, but we’ll continue to monitor and assess,” the post said. “Like everyone, we saw a few power outages and trees down throughout the city last night, but thankfully, nothing major. While snow in the mountains and decreasing rain amounts are all good news, we know that Mud Mountain Dam has stored a lot of water and will need to keep releasing higher than normal flows for [quite a] while, even after the weather itself calms down.”
Wilkeson
Jayme Peloli, the mayor-elect of Wilkeson, published a Facebook post Monday evening saying the city was taking care of its residents in the Fairfax area.
“We are very aware of the demands WSDOT is managing across the state right now, especially with widespread flooding and transportation impacts,” Peloli wrote. “Knowing that resources are stretched thin, we felt it was important for our town to step in and check on our Fairfax residents directly, ensuring they were safe, connected, and had what they needed during this time.”
Fairfax residents became relatively isolated from the rest of the community after the closure of the Carbon River Fairfax Bridge in April. In June, The News Tribune reported on the experience of residents who live in the Carbon Canyon, who are only able to get to Wilkeson through a 9-mile, winding dirt road.
That access road became blocked off during the floods, cutting off these residents.
“A private land management operator was able to grant emergency access, allowing us to safely reach homes and check on residents,” Peloli wrote. “... we were able to safely reach residents, reprogram radios, deliver resources and gear, and take inventory of any immediate needs, including food, fuel, and additional support.”
Reporting damage
Kennedy said in his email to The News Tribune that reporting damage plays a critical part in the county’s effort to assess and repair flood damage.
“Reporting damages and impacts is an important first step in determining community needs and may be required before state or federal disaster assistance becomes available,” Kennedy wrote. “Pierce County Emergency Management will use submitted information to better understand the scope of damage, support recovery planning, and advocate for additional resources.”
Residents and business owners can report damage at PierceCountyWA.gov/ReportDamage.
To view road closures and roadway issues, visit PierceCountyWA.gov/RoadAlerts. Residents can also report road, river and storm drainage issues at PierceCountyWA.gov/Works.
This story was originally published December 17, 2025 at 2:12 PM.
